herrmnenita
Nowhere else in the world or maybe there are some other countries that collect a so-called "departure tax" or "airport user's tax". It is the same elephant with a different name. $17.50 is a high price to pay for being in the airport for a few hours. Besides, having an airport is part of a country's infrastructure that should be fully subsidized by the government. No one tells passengers that they have to pay 750 php upon departure. What if you dont have any money left when you depart?
The thrust of this writing is really the messy, disorganized and haphazard handling of departing passengers. The lines are long and no one is sure which line he should be in. After checking in, no one knows what the next step is. I asked someone behind a counter pretending to be hard at work (but was really just talking to a colleague who was none too helpful or happy for the interruption) who pointed to the immigration sign. I saw a long line of OFWs queueing up to enter the immigration area. So, I fell in line and when I got close to the end of the line, I was told I had to pay the AUT first which I did and simply asked the guy who was looking at boarding passes if I could go in now. He said, "No. You have to get back in line." This really pisses me off because the line had become very long by this time. I asked the guy in front of me if he had paid his AUT and he said he did not have to because he was OFW. OK...So how was I supposed to know? Now, why arent employees of NAIA seeing to it that people are in the right line? I made a fuss on the line and was then told when it was my turn that I had been asked to come to the head of the line. THIS NEVER HAPPENED. NO ONE APPROACHED ME. I WAS ALREADY TEHRE AND WAS TURNED BACK. There is no rationale behind this. At the head of the line, the same guy allowed a woman who had just stepped away from the window to get in ahead. I asked why he did that? He could not answer. So I get into the immigration area and the lines snake in and out and it seemed endless.
Why cant OFWs have a separate line? Why cant there be more lines to get to the immigration window? why are there no signs?
Why are the lines for different windows blending that no one knows where one actually begins or the other ends? Why is there no one managing the lines and making sure people are not wasting their time or if they are in the right line? NO ONE ASKS THESE QUESTIONS AND YET THERE ARE ENOUGH PEOPLE ON CELL PHONES AND SITTING AROUND DOING NOTHING BUT AMUSING EACH OTHER.
There was a family of 4 and they did not know what to do but were in line because the sign said "Immigration".
This airport experience really ruined my visit to the Philippines. There has to be a better way to collect the AUT via the airlines maybe or some other way, but not after you have checked in. In most countries, after you check in, you go to the security gate and then the immigration. That seems to work efficiently.
Those of you who have undergone a similar experience, share them. I would like to see NAIA be one of those airports that truly cares.
The thrust of this writing is really the messy, disorganized and haphazard handling of departing passengers. The lines are long and no one is sure which line he should be in. After checking in, no one knows what the next step is. I asked someone behind a counter pretending to be hard at work (but was really just talking to a colleague who was none too helpful or happy for the interruption) who pointed to the immigration sign. I saw a long line of OFWs queueing up to enter the immigration area. So, I fell in line and when I got close to the end of the line, I was told I had to pay the AUT first which I did and simply asked the guy who was looking at boarding passes if I could go in now. He said, "No. You have to get back in line." This really pisses me off because the line had become very long by this time. I asked the guy in front of me if he had paid his AUT and he said he did not have to because he was OFW. OK...So how was I supposed to know? Now, why arent employees of NAIA seeing to it that people are in the right line? I made a fuss on the line and was then told when it was my turn that I had been asked to come to the head of the line. THIS NEVER HAPPENED. NO ONE APPROACHED ME. I WAS ALREADY TEHRE AND WAS TURNED BACK. There is no rationale behind this. At the head of the line, the same guy allowed a woman who had just stepped away from the window to get in ahead. I asked why he did that? He could not answer. So I get into the immigration area and the lines snake in and out and it seemed endless.
Why cant OFWs have a separate line? Why cant there be more lines to get to the immigration window? why are there no signs?
Why are the lines for different windows blending that no one knows where one actually begins or the other ends? Why is there no one managing the lines and making sure people are not wasting their time or if they are in the right line? NO ONE ASKS THESE QUESTIONS AND YET THERE ARE ENOUGH PEOPLE ON CELL PHONES AND SITTING AROUND DOING NOTHING BUT AMUSING EACH OTHER.
There was a family of 4 and they did not know what to do but were in line because the sign said "Immigration".
This airport experience really ruined my visit to the Philippines. There has to be a better way to collect the AUT via the airlines maybe or some other way, but not after you have checked in. In most countries, after you check in, you go to the security gate and then the immigration. That seems to work efficiently.
Those of you who have undergone a similar experience, share them. I would like to see NAIA be one of those airports that truly cares.